imvoting

Behind Bars...

from Satan's Laundromat.

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Imperial Hubris

[ Image from TomPaine.com ]

The following excerpt is from an article first published on Sunday, June 27, 2004 by the Free Lance-Star / Fredericksburg, Virginia and posted to Common Dreams.

Bush is in Trouble; Will bin Laden Bail him Out?
by Rick Mercier

BEFORE PRESIDENT Bush’s Mesopotamian adventure, TomPaine.com produced an advertisement showing Osama bin Laden pointing at the reader, à la Uncle Sam, and exclaiming, “I want you to invade Iraq.”

As agitprop, it was brilliant; as commentary on the probable effects of an Iraq invasion, it wasn’t so bad, either.

With about four months to go until Election Day, I’m hoping that TomPaine or some other wise guys will put out an ad with the same image of bin Laden but with the request, “I want you to vote for Bush.”

It’s not hard to imagine bin Laden, tucked away in some remote tribal village along the Afghan–Pakistani border, chuckling to himself and mockingly chanting: “Four more years, four more years.” Bush has done a stunning job of playing into al–Qaida’s hands; the terrorist group could not have planned his response to Sept. 11 any better.

That’s essentially the argument made by a senior U.S. intelligence official, identified by the London Guardian as “centrally involved in the hunt for bin Laden,” in a soon-to-be-published book called “Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror.”

Written anonymously—because its author is still serving in an unnamed agency as a counterterrorism analyst—the book may represent what many career intelligence officials are thinking.

Terrorism expert Peter Bergen, who has written two books on bin Laden and al–Qaida, told the Guardian that “Imperial Hubris” presents “an amped-up version of what is emerging as the consensus among intelligence counterterrorist professionals.”

According to the Guardian, “Imperial Hubris” characterizes the Iraq invasion as “an avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked war against a foe who posed no immediate threat but whose defeat did offer economic advantage.

“Our choice of timing, moreover, shows an abject, even willful failure to recognize the ideological power, lethality, and growth potential of the threat personified by bin Laden, as well as the impetus that threat has been given by the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Muslim Iraq.”

The author of “Imperial Hubris” believes bin Laden may well be planning a catastrophic attack on the United States before November—with the intention of getting Americans to rally around Bush and carry him to victory.

“I’m very sure they [al–Qaida] can’t have a better administration for them than the one they have now,” “Anonymous” told the Guardian.

We're voting Bush out. And you can too.

I'm Voting Bush OUT

We are through feeling depressed and powerless about what the Bush administration has done to us, our country and the world. We are standing up and expressing ourselves. We are taking the country back.

We know there are a lot of people who feel the same but aren't sure what they can do.

It starts with a simple action: wearing a t-shirt, a button, a sticker, taking a walk with a friend, a group bike ride, going to the movies. Just say it. Get your friends together and stage an event. Wear the t-shirts, hand out stickers and share the message. Take it as far as you want.

{I'm Voting Bush OUT is a tactical movement started by a group of activists and designers, media consultants, authors and artists based on the East Coast. We offer a weblog as a practical resource for tactical media activists, and a website with agitprop downloads to give people the tools to make themselves heard.}

Proposal for a 3-tier plan officially launching the first day of the RNC convention thru Election Day:

Tier 1: Do It Yourself (DIY)
Download the PDF files with instructions and make your own stickers, iron-on 'T' shirts, bumper stickers, flyers/posters. Then organize an event--a bike ride with friends, a walk somewhere wearing the 'T' shirt, button, and/or stickers. There will be a calendar on the weblog for planned events and suggestions for things to do. We will set up photo weblogs with submissions from people nationwide showing what they are doing.

Tier 2: Fundraising for specific things
Getting $$ from people that have it and want to help, to produce:
- 500 silk screen 'T' shirts
- 1000 Bumper stickers
- 1000 Buttons
- Knapsacks/drawstring bags with logo
- Armbands

Tier 3: Core Organizing Group's Actions
Our mission is to disseminate the message so it will have a visible presence all over NYC & beyond by the time of the convention.

Suggested actions:
- Up-to-date posting to the ‘I'm Voting Blog’ for easy distribution of info via RSS feeds.

- Email everyone we know and get them involved. Follow up with phone calls.

- Email/Fax press releases to members of the press.

- Drive a moving billboard around town.

- Hang large banner off the front of one's house.

- Bike ride up the West Side Highway bike path in small groups; group walks, etc...

- Hook up with other groups for modest but coordinated actions.

- Send a kit with t-shirt, stickers, button, bumper stickers, flyers/poster to various activists and members of the press...

Stay tuned for more info soon....